Wau-bun, the Early Day in the Northwest - Chapters 7-13



CHAPTER VII.
BUTTE DES MORTS--LAKE PUCKAWAY.

The Butte des Morts, or Hillock of the Dead, was the scene long since(*)
of a most sanguinary battle between the French and the Mis-qua-kees, or
Foxes. So great was the carnage in this engagement, that the memory of it
has been perpetuated by the gloomy appellation given to the mound where
the dead were buried. The Foxes up to this time had inhabited the shores
of the river to which they had given their name, but, being completely
over-whelmed and beaten in this conflict, they retired to the neighborhood
of the Mississippi, and sought an asylum among their allies, the Saukies,
or, as they are now called, the Sauks, with whom they became gradually
incorporated, until the combined tribes came to be known, as at present,
by the name of "Sauks and Foxes."

Among the French inhabitants of the upper country, each tribe of Indians
has a particular appellation, descriptive of some peculiarity of either
their habits or their personal

(* In the year 1714.)

Page 63

appearance. Thus, the Chippewas, from their agility, are denominated
"Sauteurs," or Jumpers; the Ottawas, the "Courtes-oreilles," or Short-
ears. The Menomonees, from the wild rice so abundant in their country, are
called "Folles Avoines;"--the Winnebagoes, from their custom of wearing
the fur of a polecat on their legs when equipped for war, are termed "les
Puans;"--the Pottowattamies, from their uncleanly habits, "les Poux;"--the
Foxes are "les Renards," etc. etc.

Hence you will never hear a French or half-breed resident of the country
mention an Indian in any other style. "Such a person is a 'Court-
oreille.'" "Is that woman a 'Winnebago'?" "No, she is a 'Folle Avoine.'"
In this manner a stranger is somewhat puzzled at first to classify the
acquaintances he forms.

All the native friends with whom we were here surrounded were "les Puans,"
or, to use their own euphonious appellation, the "Ho-tshung-rahs."

Having with great regret said adieu to our friend Judge Doty, whose
society had contributed so much to the pleasure of our trip, and whose
example, moreover, had given us a valuable lesson to take things as we
find them, we bade good-bye at an early hour after breakfast to our kind
hosts, and set forward on our journey.

From Butte des Morts to the Portage, the distance by land is about seventy
miles; by water, it is not less than a hundred and thirty, so serpentine
is the course of the river through the low swampy prairies which stretch
over a great portion of this part of the country.

About six miles above the Butte, a tolerably broad stream, called Wolf
River, joins the Fox, and as it is much the more direct and promising of
the two, strangers have sometimes mistaken it for the main stream, and
journeyed up it a considerable distance before discovering,

Page 64

to their great chagrin, that they must retrace their steps.

Beyond this place, the river begins to play its pranks with the compass.
As I was always looking out for pretty scenery to sketch, I was at one
spot much attracted by a picturesque group on a bank quite close to the
stream. There were broad overhanging trees, and two or three wigwams
nestled under their shade. Bright-looking little children, quite
unencumbered with clothing, were sporting about, and their two mothers
were sitting on the ground, engaged in the manufacture of a mat for their
lodge. It was a pretty scene, and I commenced a sketch. As usual, the
whole party on the bank set up a shout when they recognized Shaw-nee-aw-
kee,--

"Ee-awn-chee-wee-rah, Hee-nee-kar-ray-kay-noo."(*)

It was an occasion on which they became demonstrative. After a little time
we proceeded, and I went on to complete my drawing. The sun kept coming
more and more into the wrong place. He had been just behind me, presently
he was on my left hand, now he was straight ahead. I moved from time to
time; at length the sun was decidedly on my right hand. What could be the
matter? I looked up. "Oh, here is a pretty scene; I must have this too!
But how surprisingly like the one I have just finished, only in a
different direction." Again we were greeted with shouts and laughter; it
was the same spot which we had passed not an hour before, and, having
taken a circuit of nearly four miles, we had returned to find that we had
made an actual progress of only the width of the bank on which the trees
and wigwams stood. Decidedly not very encouraging to an impatient
traveller.

We reached Lake Puckaway late in the evening of our

(* Father! How do you do?)

Page 65

second day from Butte des Morts. Here lived a white man named Gleason, the
same concerning whom, owing to his vast powers of exaggeration, poor Hooe
was fond of uttering his little pun, "All is not gold that Gleasons." We
did not seek shelter at his house, for, late as the season was, we found
the shore so infested with musquitoes that we were glad to choose a spot
as far as possible from the bank, and make ourselves comfortable in our
boat.

This lake has its name from the long flags or rushes which are found in
its waters in great abundance, and of which the squaws manufacture the
coarse matting used in covering their wigwams. Their mode of fabricating
this is very primitive and simple. Seated on the ground, with the rushes
laid side by side, and fastened at each extremity, they pass their
shuttle, a long flat needle made of bone, to which is attached a piece of
cordage formed of the bark of a tree, through each rush, thus confining it
very closely, and making a fine substantial mat. These mats are seldom
more than five or six feet in length, as a greater size would be
inconvenient in adjusting and preparing the lodges.

It is a species of labor usually assigned to the elder women of the
family. When they become broken down and worn out with exposure and
hardship, so that they cannot cut down trees, hoe corn, or carry heavy
burdens, they are set to weaving mats, taking care of the children, and
disciplining the dogs, with which every Indian lodge abounds.

Lac de Boeuf, or Buffalo Lake, into which our course next brought us, is a
lovely sheet of water. In some places its banks are exceedingly
picturesque, with beautiful headlands jutting out into the clear depths,
where they, and the magnificent groups of trees which crown them, lie
reflected as in a mirror. Now and then we would catch a glimpse of deer
darting across the glades

Page 66

which at intervals opened through the woodlands, or a pair of sand-hill
cranes would rise, slowly flapping their wings, and seek a place of more
undisturbed repose. The flocks of teal now skimming the surface of the
water, now rising higher towards the shelter of the forests, tempted our
sportsman sorely; but, as there was little prospect of finding his game
when it was brought down, he did not give way to the wanton pleasure of
shooting merely to destroy life.

In quitting this charming lake, and again entering the narrow, tortuous
course of the river, we bade adieu to everything like scenery, until we
should reach our journey's end.

We had now seventy miles to pass through a country perfectly monotonous
and uninteresting, the distastefulness of which was aggravated by the
knowledge that we could, had we been provided with horses or a carriage of
any kind, have crossed over to the Portage from Gleason's, through a
pleasant country, in little more than three hours. Even our great
resource, the cheering, animating songs of our voyageurs, was out of the
question; for the river, though deep, is so narrow that, in many places,
there is no room for the regular play of the oars; and the voices of
Frenchmen can never "keep tune" unless their oars can "keep time."
Lapierre, one of our men, did his best with a paddle, or, as he called it,
the "little row," but it was to no purpose--it would not go. Besides this,
the wild rice abounds to such an extent in many places, that it almost
completely obstructs the progress of even a moderate-sized boat, so that a
passage through its tangled masses is with difficulty forced by the oars.
Tedious and monotonous as was the whole course of the two following days,
the climax of impatience and discouragement was not reached until we
arrived in sight of the white walls of Fort Winnebago, looking down from a
rising ground upon the vast expanse of low land through which the river
winds.

Page 67

The Indians have a tradition that a vast serpent once lived in the waters
of the Mississippi, and that, taking a freak to visit the Great Lakes, he
left his trail through the prairies, which, collecting the waters from the
meadows and the rains of heaven as they fell, at length became the Fox
River.

The little lakes along its course were probably the spots where he
flourished about in his uneasy slumbers at night. He must have played all
the antics of a kitten in the neighborhood of the Portage. When the fort
was first pointed, out to me, I exclaimed, with delight, "Oh, we shall be
there in half an hour!"

"Not quite so soon," said my husband, smiling. "Wait and see." We sat and
watched. We seemed approaching the very spot where we were to disembark.
We could distinguish the officers and a lady on the bank waiting to
receive us. Now we were turning our backs on them, and shooting out into
the prairie again. Anon we approached another bank, on which was a range
of comfortable-looking log houses. "That's the Agency," said my husband;
"the largest house belongs to Paquette, the interpreter, and the others
are the dwellings of our Frenchmen. The little building, just at the foot
of the hill, is the blacksmith's shop, kept there by the Government, that
the Indians may have their guns and traps mended free of expense."

"But are we going to stop there?"

"No; do you not see we are going back to the fort?"

And, to be sure, our course had now turned, and we were setting in our
first direction. In this manner, after tacking to the right and left and
putting backwards and forwards during the greater part of two hours, we at
length reached the little landing, on which the assembled party stood
ready to greet us.



Page 68

CHAPTER VIII.
FORT WINNEBAGO.

Major and Mrs. Twiggs, and a few of the younger officers (for nearly all
of the older ones were absent), with our brother Robert, or, as he is
called throughout all the Indian tribes, "Bob," gave us a cordial welcome--
how cordial those alone can know who have come, like us, to a remote,
isolated home in the wilderness. The Major insisted on our taking
possession at once of vacant quarters in the fort, instead of at "the
Agency," as had been proposed.

"No--we must be under the same roof with them. Mrs. Twiggs had been
without a companion of her own sex for more than four months, and would
certainly not hear of a separation now. But we must be their guests until
the arrival of the boats containing our furniture," which, under the care
of our old acquaintance, Hamilton Arndt, was making its way slowly up from
Green Bay.

A dinner had been prepared for us. This is one of the advantages of the
zigzag approach by the Fox River--travellers never take their friends by
surprise; and when the whole circle sat down to the hospitable board, we
were indeed a merry company.

After dinner Mrs. Twiggs showed me the quarters assigned to us, on the
opposite side of the spacious hall. They consisted of two large rooms on
each of the three floors or stories of the building. On the ground-floor
the front room was vacant. The one in the rear was to be the sleeping-
apartment, as was evident from a huge, unwieldy

Page 69

bedstead, of proportions amply sufficient to have accommodated Og, the
King of Bashan, with Mrs. Og and the children into the bargain. We could
not repress our laughter; but the bedstead was nothing to another
structure which occupied a second corner of the apartment.

This edifice had been built under the immediate superintendence of one of
our young lieutenants, and it was plain to be seen that upon it both he
and the soldiers who fabricated it had exhausted all their architectural
skill. The timbers of which it was composed had been grooved and carved;
the pillars that supported the front swelled in and out in a most fanciful
manner; the doors were not only panelled, but radiated in a way to excite
the admiration of all unsophisticated eyes. A similar piece of workmanship
had been erected in each set of quarters, to supply the deficiency of
closets, an inconvenience which had never occurred, until too late, to the
bachelors who planned them. The three apartments of which each structure
was composed, were unquestionably designed for clothes-press, store-room,
and china-closet; such, at least, were the uses to which Mrs. Twiggs had
appropriated the one assigned to her. There was this slight difficulty,
that in the latter the shelves were too close to admit of setting in even
a gravy-boat, but they made up in number what was wanting in space. We
christened the whole affair, in honor of its projector, a "Davis," thus
placing the first laurel on the brow of one who was afterwards to
signalize himself in Cabinet making of quite a different character.

The bold promontory on which Fort Winnebago was built looked down upon the
extended prairie and the Fox River on one side, and on the other stretched
away into the thickly-wooded ridge that led off to Belle Fontaine and Lake
Puckaway.

In front lay an extent of meadow, across which was the

Page 70

Portage road, of about two miles in length, leading between the Fox and
the Wisconsin Rivers. Teams of oxen and a driver were kept at the Agency
by the Government, to transport the canoes of the Indians across this
place, which at many seasons was wet, miry, and almost impassable.

The woods were now brilliant with the many tints of autumn, and the scene
around was further enlivened by groups of Indians, in all directions, and
their lodges, which were scattered here and there, in the vicinity of the
Agency buildings. On the low grounds might be seen the white tents of the
traders, already prepared to furnish winter supplies to the Indians, in
exchange for the annuity money they were about to receive.

A great concourse had been for many days assembling in anticipation of the
payment, which was expected to take place as soon as Shaw-nee-aw-kee
should arrive with the silver.

Preparatory to this event, the great chief of the nation, Four-Legs, whose
village we had passed at the entrance to Winnebago Lake, had thought
proper to take a little carouse, as is too apt to be the custom when the
savages come into the neighborhood of a sutler's establishment. In the
present instance, the facilities for a season of intoxication had been
augmented by the presence on the ground of some traders, too regardless of
the very stringent laws prohibiting the sale of liquor to the Indians.

Poor Four-Legs could not stand this full tide of prosperity. Unchecked by
the presence of his Father, the agent, he carried his indulgence to such
excess that he fell a victim in the course of a few days. His funeral had
been celebrated with unusual pomp the day before our arrival, and great
was my disappointment at finding myself too late to witness all the
ceremonies.

Page 71

His body, according to their custom, having been wrapped in a blanket, and
placed in a rude coffin, along with his guns,tomahawk, pipes, and a
quantity of tobacco, had been carried to the most elevated point of the
hill opposite the fort, followed by an immense procession of his people,
whooping, beating their drums, howling, and making altogether what is
emphatically termed a "pow-wow."

After the interment of the body, a stake was planted at its head, on which
was painted in vermilion a series of hieroglyphics, descriptive of the
great deeds and events of his life. The whole was then surrounded with
pickets of the trunks of the tamarack-trees, and hither the friends would
come for many successive days to renew the expression of their grief, and
to throw over the grave tobacco and other offerings to the Great Spirit.

It was a consolation to find that, although delayed, we were yet in time
to furnish a quantity of white cotton for a flag to wave over the grave,
and also to pay a considerable bill at the sutler's for the different
articles that had been found necessary for the funeral parade--it being a
duty expected of their Father to bury the dead suitably.

The funeral observances in honor of the chief had not yet ceased.
Throughout the day, and all that night, the sound of instruments, mingled
with doleful lamentations, and with the discordant whoops and yells of
those in a partial state of intoxication, filled the air, and disturbed
our repose. To these were added occasionally the plaintive sounds of the
Indian flute, upon which the young savage plays when he is in love. Grief
and whiskey had made their hearts tender, and the woods resounded to their
melancholy strains.

Early the following morning, before I left my room, I was startled by the
sounds of lamentation and woe proceeding from the adjoining apartment. On
entering it, I

Page 72

found several squaws seated on the floor, with downcast looks expressive
of condolence and sympathy, while in their midst sat a little ugly woman,
in tattered garments, with blackened face and dishevelled hair, sobbing
and wailing bitterly.

Not doubting they were the family of the deceased chief, I was quite
troubled at my inability to express, otherwise than by gestures, my
participation in their sorrows.

Unacquainted as I was with their customs, I took it for granted from their
wretched appearance that poverty and destitution formed one of the sources
of their affliction. One of the party, at least, seemed in the very depths
of misery. "Can it be possible," said I to myself, "that this poor
creature has only these scanty rags to cover her?"

Stepping back to my own room, I brought out a pretty calico wrapper, which
I presented to the little, dirty, blackened object. She took it, and
commenced a fresh series of sobbing and sighing. I made signs to her to
put it on, opening it and explaining to her how it was to be worn, and
recommending to her, by gestures, to lose no time in making herself more
comfortable.

At this, the other women burst into a laugh.

"Very mal-a-propos," thought I, "and somewhat unfeeling." At that moment
my husband, entering, explained to me that the chief mourner was Madame
Four-Legs, the widow; that she had undoubtedly a comfortable wardrobe at
home, but that it was part of the etiquette of mourning to go for a season
with neglected persons and blackened faces. All this was told me in the
intervals of shaking hands, and offering and receiving condolences in the
most uncouth, guttural language I had ever heard. Their Father at length
dismissed them, with a promise of some

Page 73

presents to help dry up their tears. It must not be inferred that the
grief of the poor little widow was not sincere. On the contrary, she was
greatly attached to her husband, and had great influence not only with him
but with the nation at large. She was a Fox woman, and spoke the Chippewa,
which is the court language among all the tribes, so that she was often
called upon to act as interpreter, and had, in fact, been in the habit of
accompanying her husband, and assisting him by her counsels upon all
occasions. She was a person of great shrewdness and judgment, and, as I
afterwards experienced, of strong and tenacious affections.

After breakfast I received a visit from the principal chiefs, who had put
on their best of apparel and paint to receive their new mother.

There was Naw-kaw, or Kar-ray-mau-nee, "the Walking Turtle," now the
principal chief of the nation, a stalwart Indian, with a broad, pleasant
countenance, the great peculiarity of which was an immense under lip,
hanging nearly to his chin. There was the old Day-kau-ray,the most noble,
dignified, and venerable of his own, or indeed of any tribe. His fine
Roman countenance, rendered still more striking by his bald head, with one
solitary tuft of long silvery hair neatly tied and falling back on his
shoulders; his perfectly neat, appropriate dress, almost without ornament,
and his courteous demeanor, never laid aside under any circumstances, all
combined to give him the highest place in the consideration of all who
knew him. It will hereafter be seen that his traits of character were not
less grand and striking than were his personal appearance and deportment.

There was Black-Wolf, whose lowering, surly face was well described by his
name. The fierce expression of his countenance was greatly heightened by
the masses of

Page 74

heavy black hair hanging round it, quite contrary to the usual fashion
among the Winnebagoes. They, for the most part, remove a portion of their
hair, the remainder of which is drawn to the back of the head, clubbed and
ornamented with beads, ribbons, cock's feathers, or, if they are so
entitled, an eagle's feather for every scalp taken from an enemy.

There was Talk-English, a remarkably handsome, powerful young Indian, who
received his name in the following manner. He was one of a party of
sixteen Winnebagoes who had, by invitation, accompanied their Agent and
Major Forsyth (or the Chippewa, as he was called) on a visit to the
President at Washington, the year previous.

On the journey, the question naturally addressed to them by people not
familiar with Western Indians was,--

"Do you talk English?"

The young fellow, being very observant, came to his Father. "What do they
mean by this? Everybody says to me, talk English!"

The Agent interpreted the words to him. "Ah, very well."

The next place they arrived at was Lockport, in the State of New York.
Jumping off the canal-boat upon the lock, he ran up to the first man he
met, and, thrusting forward his face, cried out, "Talk Eengeesh?"

"Yes," said the man; "do you talk English?"

"Ya-as."

From that time forward he always bore the name of Talk-English, and was
registered on the pay-rolls by a title of which he was not a little proud.

Hoo-wau-nee-kah, "the Little Elk," was another of the distinguished men of
the tribe. He had likewise been at Washington. Henry Clay, when he visited
them, after

Page 75

looking carefully at the countenances and bearing of all the members of
the deputation, had indicated him as the one possessing the greatest
talent; and he was greatly pleased when informed that he was the principal
orator of the nation, and decidedly superior in abilities to any other
individual of the tribe.

Wild-Cat, our Indian Falstaff in all save the cowardice and falsehood, I
have already mentioned.

Then there was Kau-ray-kaw-saw-kaw, "the White Crow," a Rock River Indian,
who afterwards distinguished himself as the friend of the whites during
the Sauk war. He was called by the French "le Borgne," from having lost an
eye; and the black silk handkerchief which he wore drooping over the left
side of his face to disguise the blemish, taken with his native costume,
gave him a very singular appearance.

There was a nephew of the defunct chief Four-Legs, to whom with justice
was given, by both whites and Indians, the appellation of "the Dandy."
When out of mourning his dress was of the most studied and fanciful
character. A shirt (when he condescended to wear any) of the brightest
colors, ornamented with innumerable rows of silver brooches set thickly
together; never less than two pairs of silver arm-bands; leggings and
moccasins of the most elaborate embroidery in ribbons and porcupine-
quills; everything that he could devise in the shape of ornament hanging
to his club of hair behind; a feather fan in one hand, and in the other a
mirror, in which he contemplated himself every five minutes; these, with
the variety and brilliancy of the colors upon his face, the suitable
choice and application of which occupied no small portion of the hours
allotted to his toilet, made up the equipment of young Four-Legs.

This devotion to dress and appearance seemed not

Page 76

altogether out of place in a youthful dandy; but we had likewise an old
one of the same stamp. Pawnee Blanc, or the White Pawnee, surpassed his
younger competitor, if possible, in attention to his personal attractions.

Upon the present occasion he appeared in all his finery, and went through
the customary salutations with an air of solemn dignity, then walked, as
did the others, into the parlor (for I had received them in the hall),
where they all seated themselves upon the floor. Fortunately, the room was
now bare of furniture, but "alas!" thought I, "for my pretty carpet, if
this is to be the way they pay their respects to me!" I watched the
falling of the ashes from their long pipes, and the other inconveniences
of the use of tobacco, or kin-ni-kin-nick, with absolute dismay.

The visit of the chiefs was succeeded by one from the interpreter and his
wife, with all the Canadian and half-breed women, whose husbands found
employment at the Agency or at the American Fur Company's establishment.

By this time my piano had been taken from its case and set up in our
quarters. To our great joy, we found it entirely uninjured. Thanks to the
skill of Nunns and Clark, not a note was out of tune.

The women, to whom it was an entire novelty, were loud in their
exclamations of wonder and delight.

"Eh-h-h! regardez done! Quelles inventions! Quelles merveilles!"(*)

One, observing the play of my fingers reflected in the name board, called
in great exultation to her companions. She had discovered, as she thought,
the hidden machinery by which the sounds were produced, and was not a
little mortified when she was undeceived.

(* Only look! what inventions! what wonders!)



Page 77

CHAPTER IX.
HOUSEKEEPING.

As the boats might be expected in a few days, it was thought best to begin
at once what preparations were in my power towards housekeeping. These
were simply the fitting and sewing of my carpets, in which I was kindly
assisted by Mrs. Twiggs; and, the wife of one of our Frenchmen having come
over from the Agency and made everything tidy and comfortable, the carpets
were soon tacked down, and the rooms were ready for the reception of the
rest of the furniture.

I had made many fruitless attempts, both in Detroit and Green Bay, to
procure a servant-woman to accompany me to my new home. Sometimes one
would present herself, but, before we could come to a final agreement, the
thoughts of the distance, of the savages, the hardships of the journey,
or, perhaps, the objections of friends, would interfere to break off the
negotiation; so that I had at length been obliged to rest satisfied with
the simple hope held out by my husband, that one of his French employes,
with his wife, would be contented to take up their abode with us.

In this state of things, all difficulties seemed to be obviated by the
proposal of Major Twiggs, that we should take into our service a young
colored girl whom he had brought from Buffalo, in the spring, to wait on
Mrs. T. until her own servants should arrive from the South.

Louisa was accordingly sent for, an uncommonly handsome young negress,
with an intelligent but very demure

Page 78

countenance, who called herself fifteen years of age, but who, from the
progress in vice and iniquity I afterwards discovered her to have made,
must have been at least several years older. Be that as it may, she now
seemed to have no fault but carelessness and inexperience, both of which I
had great hopes she would get the better of, under careful training.

My first week's visit with Mrs. Twiggs had just expired when word was
given that the boats were in sight--the boats that contained our
furniture--and the expected arrival of Louis Philippe to visit Queen
Victoria could scarcely have created a more universal sensation, than did
this announcement in our little community. Although we knew that some
hours must yet elapse before they could reach the spot for disembarkation,
we were constantly on the watch, and at length all the young officers,
followed by as many of the soldiers as were off duty, accompanied Mr.
Kinzie down the bank to the landing, to witness and, if necessary, to
assist in helping everything safe to land.

Sad was the plight in which matters were found. The water poured out of
the corners of the boxes as they were successively hoisted on shore. Too
impatient to wait until they could be carried up to the fort, the
gentlemen soon furnished themselves with hammers and hatchets, and fell
eagerly to work, opening the boxes to explore the extent of the damage.
Alas for the mahogany! not a piece from which the edges and veneering were
not starting. It had all the appearance of having lain under the Grande
Chute for days. Poor Hamilton was loud in his protestations and excuses.

It was the fault of the men, of the weather, of the way the things were
packed. "Confound it! he had taken the best care of the things he possibly
could--better than he had ever taken before--it would get done!"

Page 79

There was nothing but to be patient and make the best of it. And when the
pretty sideboard and work-table had been thoroughly rubbed and set up, and
all the little knickknacks arranged on the mantel-piece--when the white
curtains were hung at the windows, and the chairs and dining-table each in
its proper place in relation to the piano, our parlor was pronounced
"magnificent." At least so seemed to think Hamilton, who came to give one
admiring look, and to hear the music of the piano, which was a perfect
novelty to him. His description of it to the young officers, after his
return to the Bay, was expressive of his admiration and wonder--"There it
stood on its four legs! Anybody might go up and touch it!"

In due time the dinner- and tea-sets were carefully bestowed in the
"Davis," together with sundry jars of sweetmeats that I had prepared in
Detroit; the iron and tin utensils were placed in a neat cupboard in the
kitchen, of which my piano-box supplied the frame; the barrel of eggs and
tubs of butter, brought all the way from Ohio, were ranged in the store-
room; a suitable quantity of salt pork and flour was purchased from the
commissary; and, there being no lack of game of every description, the
offering of our red children, we were ready to commence house-keeping.

The first dinner in her own home is an era in the life of a young
housekeeper. I shall certainly never forget mine. While I was in the lower
regions superintending my very inexpert little cook, my husband made his
appearance, to say that, as the payment (then the all-absorbing topic of
interest) would not commence until afternoon, he had invited M. Rolette,
Mr. Hempstead, and four other gentlemen to dine with us.

"So unexpected--so unprepared for?"

"Never mind; give them anything you have. They

Page 80

have been living for some days in tents, and anything will taste well to
them."

My dinner had been intended to consist chiefly of a venison pasty, and
fortunately the only dish among my store was of very large proportions, so
that there was already smoking in the oven a pie of a size nearly equal to
the famous Norwich pudding; thus, with some trifling additions to the bill
of fare, we made out very well, and the master of the house had the
satisfaction of hearing the impromptu dinner very much commended by his
six guests.



CHAPTER X.
INDIAN PAYMENT--MRS. WASHINGTON.

There were two divisions of the Winnebago Indians, one of which was paid
by the Agent, at the Portage, the other at Prairie du Chien, by General
Street. The first, between four and five thousand in number, received,
according to treaty stipulations, fifteen thousand dollars annually,
besides a considerable amount of presents, and a certain number of rations
of bread and pork, to be issued in times of emergency throughout the year.

The principal villages of this division of the tribe were at Lake
Winnebago, Green and Fox Lakes, the Barribault, Mud Lake, the Four Lakes,
Kosh-ko-nong, and Turtle Creek. Messengers were dispatched, at or before
the arrival of the annuity-money, to all the different villages, to notify
the heads of families or lodges to assemble at "the Portage."

When arrived, the masters of families, under their different

Page 81

chiefs, give in their names, and the number in their lodges, to be
registered. As, in paying, a certain sum of money is apportioned to each
individual, it is, of course, an object to the head of a lodge to make the
number registered as great as possible. Each one brings his little bundle
of sticks, and presents it to the Agent to register. Sometimes a dialogue
like the following occurs:

"How many have you in your lodge?"

The Indian carefully, and with great ceremony, counts his bundle of
sticks--"Fifteen."

"How many men?"

"Two." The Agent lays aside two sticks.

"How many women?"

"Three." Three more sticks are separated.

"How many children?"

"Eight." Eight sticks are added to the heap.

"What is the meaning of these two sticks that remain?"

The culprit, whose arithmetic has not served him to carry out his
deception, disappears amid the shouts and jeers of his companions, who are
always well pleased at the detection of any roguery in which they have had
no share.

The young officers generally assisted in counting out and delivering the
money at these payments, and it was no unusual thing, as the last band
came up, for the chiefs to take a quantity of silver out of the box and
request their Father to pay his friends for their trouble, seeming really
disturbed at his refusal. In this, as in almost every instance, we see the
native courtesy and politeness, which are never lost sight of among them.
If a party comes to their Father to beg for provisions, and food is
offered them, however hungry they may be, each waits patiently until one
of the company makes an equal distribution of

Page 82

the whole, and then, taking his share, eats it quietly, with the greatest
moderation. I never saw this rule violated, save in one instance.

Our friend, Pawnee Blanc, the Old Dandy, once came with a party of
Indians, requesting permission to dance for us in the open space before
the door. It was a warm, dusty afternoon, and as our friends grew heated
and fatigued with the violent and long-continued exercise, a pitcher of
raspberry negus was prepared and sent out to them. Pawnee received the
pitcher and tumbler, and, pouring the latter about half full, gave it to
the first of the circle, then filled the same for the next, and so on,
until it suddenly occurred to him to look into the pitcher. What he saw
there determined his course of action; so, setting the tumbler upon the
ground, he raised the pitcher with both hands to his lips and gave a
hearty pull, after which he went on, giving less and less, until he was
called to have the pitcher replenished. All present agreed it was the only
instance they had ever witnessed, of an Indian's appearing afraid of
getting less of a thing than his share.

During the payment a good many kegs of whiskey find their way into the
lodges of the Indians, notwithstanding the watchfulness of both officers
and Agent. Where there is a demand there will always be a supply, let the
legal prohibitions be what they may. The last day of the payment is,
invariably, one of general carousing.

When the men begin their frolic, the women carefully gather all the guns,
knives, tomahawks, and weapons of every description, and secrete them,
that as little mischief as possible may be done in the absence of all
restraint and reason. I am sorry to record that our little friend, Pawnee
Blanc, was greatly addicted to the pleasures of the bottle.

Page 83

Among the presents for the chiefs, which Shaw-nee-aw-kee had brought from
the East, was a trunk of blue cloth coats, trimmed with broad gold lace,
and a box of round black hats, ornamented in a similar manner. All who are
familiar with Indians, of whatever tribe, will have observed that their
first step towards civilization, whether in man or woman, is mounting a
man's hat, decorated with tinsel, ribbons, or feathers. Pawnee was among
the happy number remembered in the distribution; so, donning at once his
new costume, and tying a few additional bunches of gay-colored ribbons to
a long spear, that was always his baton of ceremony, he came at once,
followed by an admiring train, chiefly of women, to pay me a visit of
state.

The solemn gravity of his countenance, as he motioned away those who would
approach too near and finger his newly-received finery--the dignity with
which he strutted along, edging this way and that to avoid any possible
contact from homely, every-day wardrobes--augured well for a continuance
of propriety and self-respect, and a due consideration of the good opinion
of all around. But, alas for Pawnee! late in the day we saw him assisted
towards his lodge by two stout young Indians, who had pulled him out of a
ditch, his fine coat covered with mud, his hat battered and bruised, his
spear shorn of its gay streamers, and poor Pawnee himself weeping and
uttering all the doleful lamentations of a tipsy Indian.

Among the women with whom I early made acquaintance was the wife of Wau-
kaun-zee-kah, the Yellow Thunder. She had accompanied her husband, who was
one of the deputation to visit the President, and from that time forth she
had been known as "the Washington woman." She had a pleasant, old-
acquaintance sort of air in greeting

Page 84

me, as much as to say, "You and I have seen something of the world." No
expression of surprise or admiration escaped her lips, as her companions,
with childlike, laughing simplicity, exclaimed and clapped their hands at
the different wonderful objects I showed them. Her deportment said
plainly, "Yes, yes, my children, I have seen all these things before." It
was not until I put to her ear a tropical shell, of which I had a little
cabinet, and she heard its murmuring sound, that she laid aside her apathy
of manner. She poked her finger into the opening to get at the animal
within, shook it violently, then raised it to her ear again, and finally
burst into a hearty laugh, and laid it down, acknowledging, by her looks,
that this was beyond her comprehension.

I had one shell of peculiar beauty--my favorite in the whole collection--a
small conch, covered with rich, dark veins. Each of the visitors
successively took up this shell, and by words and gestures expressed her
admiration, evidently showing that she had an eye for beauty--this was on
the occasion of the parting visit of my red daughters.

Shortly after the payment had been completed, and the Indians had left, I
discovered that my valued shell was missing from the collection. Could it
be that one of the squaws had stolen it? It was possible--they would
occasionally, though rarely, do such things under the influence of strong
temptation. I tried to recollect which, among the party, looked most
likely to have been the culprit. It could not have been the Washington
woman--she was partly civilized, and knew better.

A few weeks afterwards Mrs. Yellow Thunder again made her appearance, and
carefully unfolding a gay-colored chintz shawl, which she carried rolled
up in her hand, she produced the shell, and laid it on the table before
me. I did not know whether to show, by my countenance, displeasure

Page 85

at the trick she had played me, or joy at receiving my treasure back
again, but at length decided that it was the best policy to manifest no
emotion whatever.

She prolonged her visit until my husband's return, and he then questioned
her about the matter.

"She had taken the shell to her village, to show to some of her people,
who did not come to the payment."

"Why had she not asked her mother's leave before carrying it away?"

"Because she saw that her mother liked the shell, and she was afraid she
would say, No."

This was not the first instance in which Madame Washington had displayed
the shrewdness which was a predominant trait in her character. During the
visit of the Indians to the Eastern cities, they were taken to various
exhibitions, museums, menageries, theatres, etc. It did not escape their
observation that some silver was always paid before entrance, and they
inquired the reason. It was explained to them. The woman brightened up, as
if struck with an idea.

"How much do you pay for each one?"

Her Father told her.

"How do you say that in English?"

"Two shillings."

"Two shinnin--humph" (good).

The next day, when, as usual, visitors began to flock to the rooms where
the Indians were sojourning, the woman and a young Indian, her
confederate, took their station by the door, which they kept closed. When
any one knocked, the door was cautiously opened, and the woman, extending
her hand, exclaimed--"Two shinnin."

This was readily paid in each instance, and the game went on, until she
had accumulated a considerable sum. But this did not satisfy her. At the
first attempt of a

Page 86

visitor to leave the room, the door was held close, as before, the hand
was extended, and "Two shinnin" again met his ear. He tried to explain
that, having paid for his entrance, he must go out free. With an innocent
shake of the head, "Two shinnin," was all the English she could understand.

The Agent, who had entered a short time before, and who, overhearing the
dialogue, sat laughing behind his newspaper, waiting to see how it would
all end, now came forward and interfered, and the guests were permitted to
go forth without a further contribution.

The good woman was moreover admonished that it was far from the custom of
white people to tax their friends and visitors in this manner, and that
the practice must be laid aside in future.

Another instance of the disposition of the Indians to avail themselves of
all the goods that fortune throws in their way, was the following:

Upon the same trip, while passing through Ohio, one of the party inquired
of the Agent,--

"Do you pay for all those provisions that are set before us at the hotels?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing: I thought you perhaps paid for just what we ate of them."

At the next stopping-place a fine breakfast was set upon the table, of
which, as usual, they partook plentifully. Just as they had finished, the
horn sounded for all to take their places in the stage-coaches. Each
sprang to his feet. One seized the plates of biscuits and poured them into
the corner of his blanket; another the remains of a pair of chickens; a
third emptied the sugar- bowls; each laid hold of what was nearest him,
and in a trice nothing was left upon the table but the empty plates and
dishes. The landlord

Page 87

and waiters, meanwhile, stood laughing and enjoying the trick as much as
any of the spectators.

Upon another occasion, their Father had endeavored to impress upon them
the unseemliness of throwing their refuse pieces, bones, and fragments of
food about on the table-cloth, pointing out to them the orderly manner of
the whites at table, and the propriety of keeping everything neat and nice
around them.

At their next meal, they were served first with a chicken-pie, of which
they ate very heartily, and the accumulation of bones on their plates was
very abundant. Presently another and more favorite dish appeared,--a fine,
large, roasted turkey. A gentleman sat near, and was evidently preparing
to carve it. No time was to be lost. What was to be done with the bones?
They looked around in some perplexity. A large apple-pie was standing
near. The most eager drew it towards him, and quick as thought all the
bones were deposited upon it, while, with a triumphant laugh at the happy
idea, he coolly transferred the bird to his own dish, and proceeded to
distribute it among his companions. The amazed stranger soon joined in the
laugh at the unceremonious manner in which his share of the dinner had
vanished.



Page 88

CHAPTER XI.
LOUISA--DAY-KAU-RAY ON EDUCATION.

The payment was now over, and the Indians had dispersed and gone to their
wintering grounds. The traders, too, had departed, laden with a good share
of the silver, in exchange for which each family had provided itself, as
far as possible, with clothing, guns, traps, ammunition, and the other
necessaries for their winter use. The Indians are good at a bargain. They
are not easily overreached. On the contrary, they understand at once when
a charge is exorbitant; and a trader who tries his shrewdness upon them is
sure to receive an expressive sobriquet, which ever after clings to him.

For instance, M. Rolette was called by them "Ah-kay-zaup-ee-tah," five
more--because, as they said, let them offer what number of skins they
might, in bartering for an article, his terms were invariably "five more."

Upon one occasion a lady remarked to him, "Oh, M. Rolette, I would not be
engaged in the Indian trade; it seems to me a system of cheating the poor
Indians."

"Let me tell you, madame," replied he, with great naïvete, "it is not so
easy a thing to cheat the Indians as you imagine. I have tried it these
twenty years, and have never succeeded!"

We were now settled down to a quiet, domestic life. The military system
under which everything was conducted--the bugle-call, followed by the
music of a very good band,

Page 89

at reveille; the light, animated strains for "sick-call," and soon after
for "breakfast;" the longer ceremony of "guard-mounting;" the "Old English
Roast-Beef," to announce the dinner-hour; the sweet, plaintive strains of
"Lochaber no more," followed most incongruously by "The Little Cock-
Sparrow," at retreat; and, finally, the long, rolling "tattoo," late in
the evening--made pleasant divisions of our time, which, by the aid of
books, music, and drawing, in addition to household occupations, seemed to
fly more swiftly than ever before. It was on Sunday that I most missed my
Eastern home. I had planned beforehand what we should do on the first
recurrence of this sacred day, under our own roof. "We shall have at least,
" said I to myself, "the Sabbath's quiet and repose, and I can, among
other things, benefit poor Louisa by giving her some additional lessons of
a serious character."

So, while she was removing the breakfast-things, I said to her,--

"Now, Louisa, get your work all finished, and everything put neatly aside,
and then come here to me again."

"Yes, ma'am."

We sat down to our books, and read and waited; we waited and read another
hour--no Louisa.

There was music and the sound of voices on the parade in front of our
windows, but that did not disturb us; it was what we were daily accustomed
to.

I must go at length, and see what could be keeping my damsel so. I
descended to the kitchen. The breakfast-things stood upon the table--the
kettles and spider upon the hearth--the fire was out--the kitchen empty.

Passing back into the hall, which extended the whole length of the house
and opened in front upon the parade, I perceived a group collected in the
area, of all shades and colors, and in the midst, one round, woolly head
which I

Page 90

could not mistake, bobbing up and down, now on this side, now on that,
while peals of laughter were issuing from the whole group.

"Louisa," I called, "come here. What are you doing there?"

"Looking at inspection."

"But why are not your breakfast-things washed, and your kitchen swept? Did
I not tell you I wished you to come up and learn your lessons?"

"Yes, ma'am; but I had to see inspection first. Everybody looks at
inspection on Sunday."

I found it was in vain to expect to do more for Louisa than give her an
afternoon's lesson, and with that I was obliged to content myself.

I felt that it would be very pleasant, and perhaps profitable, for all the
inmates of the garrison to assemble on this day; one of our number might
be found who would read a portion of the church-service, with a sermon
from one of our different selections.

I approached the subject cautiously, with an inquiry to this effect:

"Are there none among the officers who are religiously disposed?"

"Oh, yes," replied the one whom I addressed, "there is S--; when he is
half tipsy, he takes his Bible and 'Newton's Works,' and goes to bed and
cries over them; he thinks in this way he is excessively pious."

S--was among the officers who had never called upon us; it was fair to
infer that if his religious principles did not correct his own evil habits
they would not aid much in improving others; therefore it seemed useless
to call in his co-operation in any scheme for a better observance of the
Lord's day.

We had to content ourselves with writing to our friends

Page 91

at the East to interest themselves in getting a missionary sent to us, who
should officiate as chaplain in the garrison--a plan that seemed to find
favor with the officers. The hope of any united religious services was,
for the present, laid aside.

The post-surgeon having obtained a furlough, his place was supplied by Dr.
Newhall, of Galena, and thus, by the addition of his gentle, quiet wife,
our circle of ladies was now enlarged to three. Here we were, in a
wilderness, but yet how contented and happy!

A gloom was soon to replace this envied tranquillity in our home. A
Frenchman, named Letendre, one day suddenly presented himself. He had come
from Chicago, with the distressing intelligence of the extreme--indeed,
hopeless--illness of our dear relative, Dr. Wolcott. My husband
immediately commenced his preparations for instant departure. I begged to
be permitted to accompany him, but the rapidity with which he proposed to
journey obliged him to refuse my entreaties. In a few hours his
provisions, horses, and all other things necessary for the journey were in
readiness, and he set off with Petaille Grignon, his usual attendant on
such expeditions, leaving Letendre to follow as soon as recruited from his
fatigue.

Sad and dreary were the hours of his absence, notwithstanding the kind
efforts of our friends to cheer me. In a few days I received the news of
the fatal termination of Dr. W.'s illness, brought by another messenger.
That noble heart, so full of warm and kindly affections, had ceased to
beat, and sad and desolate indeed were those who had so loved and honored
him.

As soon as he could possibly leave his family, my husband returned; and it
was fortunate that he had delayed no longer, for the winter now began to
set in, and with severity.

Page 92

Our quarters were spacious, but having been constructed of the green trees
of the forest, cut down and sawed into boards by the hands of the
soldiers, they were considerably given to shrinking and warping, thus
leaving many a yawning crevice. Stuffing the cracks with cotton batting,
and pasting strips of paper over them, formed the employment of many a
leisure hour.

Then the chimneys, spite of all the currents of air, which might have been
expected to create a draught, had a sad habit of smoking. To remedy this,
a couple of gun-barrels were, by order of the commanding officer, sawed
off and inserted in the hearth, one on each side of the fire-place, in the
hope that the air from the room below might help to carry the smoke into
its proper place, the chimney.

The next morning after this had been done, Louisa was washing the hearth.

"Pray, ma'am," said she, "what are these things put in here for?"

I explained their use.

"Oh, I am so glad it is only that! Uncle Ephraim (Major Twiggs's servant)
said they were to be filled with powder and fired off Christmas Day, and
he was terribly afraid they would blow the house up, and we in it."

Ephraim, who was a most faithful and valuable servant, often amused
himself with playing upon the credulity of the younger portions of the
colored fraternity.

"Is it true," asked Louisa, one day, "that Pillon and Plante were once
prairie-wolves?"

"Prairie-wolves! what an idea! Why do you ask such a foolish question?"

"Because Uncle Ephraim says they, and all the Frenchmen about here, were
once prairie-wolves, and that, living so near the white people, they grow,
after a time, to be

Page 93

like them, and learn to talk and dress like them. And then, when they get
to be old, they turn back into prairie-wolves again, and that all the
wolves that the officers bait with their dogs used to be Frenchmen, once."

After a time, however, I ceased to straighten out these stories of Uncle
Ephraim, for I was gradually arriving at the conviction that my little
colored damsel was by no means so simple and unsophisticated as she would
have me believe, and that I was, after all, the one who was imposed upon.

The snow this winter was prodigious, and the cold intense. The water would
freeze in our parlors at a very short distance from the fire, for,
although the "fatigue-parties" kept the halls filled with wood, almost up
to the ceiling, that did not counterbalance the inconvenience of having
the wide doors thrown open to the outer air for a great portion of the
day, to allow of their bringing it in. We Northerners should have had wood-
houses specially for the purpose, and not only have kept our great hall-
doors closed, but have likewise protected them with a "hurricane-house."
But the Florida frontier was not a climate in which our Southern bachelors
could have acquired the knowledge available when the thermometer was
twenty-five degrees below zero--a point at which brandy congealed in the
sideboard.

The arrival of Christmas and New-Year's brought us our Indian friends
again. They had learned something of the observance of these holidays from
their French neighbors, and I had been forewarned that I should see the
squaws kissing every white man they met. Although not crediting this to
its full extent, I could readily believe that they would each expect a
present, as a "compliment of the season," so I duly prepared myself with a
supply of beads, ribbons, combs, and other trinkets. Knowing

Page 94

them to be fond of dainties, I had also a quantity of crullers and
doughnuts made ready the day before, as a treat to them.

To my great surprise and annoyance, only a moderate share of the cakes,
the frying of which had been intrusted to Louisa, were brought up to be
placed in the "Davis."

"Where are the rest of the cakes, Louisa?"

"That great fellow, Hancock, came in with the fatigue-party to fill the
water-barrels, and while I had just stepped into the store-room to get
some more flour, he carried off all I had got cooked."

And Louisa made a face and whined, as if she had not herself treated every
soldier who had set his foot in the premises.

At an early hour the next morning I had quite a levee of the Ho-tshung-rah
matrons. They seated themselves in a circle on the floor, and I was sorry
to observe that the application of a little soap and water to their
blankets had formed no part of their holiday preparations. There being no
one to interpret, I thought I would begin the conversation in a way
intelligible to themselves, so I brought out of the sideboard a china
dish, filled with the nice brown crullers, over which I had grated,
according to custom, a goodly quantity of white sugar. I handed it to the
first of the circle. She took the dish from my hand, and, deliberately
pouring all the cakes into the corner of her blanket, returned it to me
empty. "She must be a most voracious person," thought I; "but I will
manage better the next time." I refilled the dish, and approached the next
one, taking care to keep a fast hold of it as I offered the contents, of
which I supposed she would modestly take one. Not so, however. She scooped
out the whole with her two hands, and, like the former, bestowed them in
her blanket. My sense of politeness revolted

Page 95

at handing them out one by one, as we do to children, so I sat down to
deliberate what was to be done, for evidently the supply would not long
answer such an ample demand, and there would be more visitors anon.

While I was thus perplexed, those who had received the cakes commenced a
distribution, and the whole number was equitably divided among the
company. But I observed they did not eat them. They passed their fingers
over the grated sugar, looked in each other's faces, and muttered in low
tones--there was evidently something they did not understand. Presently
one more adventurous than the rest wet her fingers, and taking up a few
grains of the sugar put it cautiously to her mouth.

"Tah-nee-zhoo-rah!" (Sugar!) was her delighted exclamation, and they all
broke out into a hearty laugh. It is needless to say that the cakes
disappeared with all the celerity they deemed compatible with good-
breeding. Never having seen any sugar but the brown or yellow maple, they
had supposed the white substance to be salt, and for that reason had
hesitated to taste it.

Their visit was prolonged until Shaw-nee-aw-kee made his appearance, and
then, having been made happy by their various gifts, they all took their
departure.

About this time, Mr. Kinzie received a letter from Colonel Richard M.
Johnson, of Kentucky. This gentleman had interested himself greatly in a
school established in that State for the education of Indian youths and
children. The purport of his letter was to request the Agent to use every
endeavor to induce the Winnebagoes not only to send their children to this
institution for their education, but also (what was still more important)
to set apart a portion of their annuity-money to assist in sustaining it.

There happened to be, at this holiday season, a number of the chiefs in
the neighborhood of the Portage, and a

Page 96

messenger was sent to convene them all at the house of Paquette, the
interpreter, that their Father might hold a talk with them.

On the day appointed they all assembled. The subject-matter of the letter
was laid before them, and all the advantages of civilization and education
duly set forth--the benefits which would arise to their nation, if even a
small portion of the younger members could be well taught by the whites,
and then return to their tribe, to instruct them in the learning, the
arts, manufactures, and habits of civilized life. To each paragraph, as it
was uttered to them, they responded with a unanimous "Humph!" (Good!)

When their Father's address was ended, Day-kau-ray, the oldest and most
venerable among the chiefs, rose and spoke as follows:

"Father,--The Great Spirit made the white man and the Indian. He did not
make them alike. He gave the white man a heart to love peace, and the arts
of a quiet life. He taught him to live in towns, to build houses, to make
books, to learn all things that would make him happy and prosperous in the
way of life appointed him. To the red man the Great Spirit gave a
different character. He gave him a love of the woods, of a free life, of
hunting and fishing, of making war with his enemies and taking scalps. The
white man does not live like the Indian--it is not his nature. Neither
does the Indian love to live like the white man--the Great Spirit did not
make him so.

"Father,--We do not wish to do anything contrary to the will of the Great
Spirit. If he had made us with white skins, and characters like the white
men, then we would send our children to this school to be taught like the
white children.

"Father,--We think that if the Great Spirit had wished

Page 97

us to be like the whites, he would have made us so. As he has not seen fit
to do so, we believe he would be displeased with us, to try and make
ourselves different from what he thought good.

"Father,--I have nothing more to say. This is what we think. If we change
our minds, we will let you know."

It will be seen from these remarks of Day-kau-ray that the Indians
entertain a conviction that the Great Spirit himself teaches the white man
the arts and sciences, and since he has given the red man no instruction
in these branches, it would be unbecoming in him to attempt to acquire
them in an irregular manner.

With little incidents of this kind, and with an occasional dinner- or tea-
party to the young officers, sometimes given at the Major's quarters,
sometimes at our own,our course of life passed pleasantly on. At times I
would amuse myself by making something very nice, in the form of a fruit
cake or pie, to send to the quarters of the young officers as a present,
it being supposed that possibly, without a lady to preside over their
mess, it might be sometimes deficient in these delicacies. Mrs. Twiggs was
so fortunate as to have well-trained servants to do for her that which,
thanks to my little dark handmaid, always fell to my share.

One day I had made some mince pies, which the Major and my husband greatly
approved, and I thought I would send one to each of the young officers.

It happened that my husband, that day, in returning from superintending
his men on the other side of the river, had occasion to call on some
errand at Captain Harney's quarters.

Dinner had just been placed upon the table, and the Captain insisted on
his visitor's sitting down and partaking

Page 98

with him and another gentleman who was present. The pork and beans were
pronounced excellent, and being removed there followed a mince pie.

The Captain cut it, and helped his guests, then taking a piece himself, he
commenced tasting it. Pushing back his plate with an exclamation and a
sudden jerk, he called to his servant, a little thick-set mulatto who
waited--"David, you yellow rascal, how dare you put such a pie on my
table?" And, turning to the company apologetically, he said,--

"If there is anything on earth David does understand, it is how to make a
mince pie, and here he has filled this with brandy, so we cannot eat a
morsel of it!"

"Please, sir," said David, modestly, "I did not make the pie--it is one
Mrs. Kinzie sent as a present."

The poor Captain was now in a predicament. He raved at himself, at the
same time conjuring my husband most earnestly not to tell me what a
mistake he had made--an injunction that was lost sight of as soon as the
latter returned to his home. As for the unlucky Captain, he did not
venture to call on me again until he felt sure I had forgotten the
circumstance.



CHAPTER XII.
PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY.

Early in January the snow fell in great abundance. We had an unusual
quantity at the Portage, but in "the diggings," as the lead-mining country
was called, it was of an unheard-of depth--five or six feet upon a level.

An express had been dispatched to Chicago by the officers

Page 99

to take our letters, and bring back the mail from that place. A tough,
hardy soldier, named Sulky, acted as messenger, and he had hitherto made
light of his burden or the length of the way, notwithstanding that his
task was performed on foot with his pack upon his shoulders. But now Sulky
had been absent some weeks, and we had given him up entirely, persuaded
that he must have perished with cold and starvation.

At length he appeared, nearly blind from travelling in the snow. He had
lain by three weeks in an Indian lodge, the snow being too deep to permit
him to journey. The account he gave put an end to the hopes I had begun to
entertain of being able to visit our friends at Chicago in the course of
this winter.

We had, before the last heavy fall of snow, been forming plans to that
effect. Captain Harney had kindly commenced preparing some trains, or
boxes placed on sledges, which it was thought would, when lined with
buffalo-skins, furnish a very comfortable kind of vehicle for the journey;
and I was still inclined to think a good, deep bed of snow over the whole
country no great obstacle to a sleigh-ride. The whole matter was, however,
cut short by the commanding officer, who from the first had violently
opposed the scheme, declaring that he would order the sentinels to fire on
us if we attempted to leave the fort. So, finding the majority against us,
we were obliged to yield.

The arrival of sweet, lovely little Lizzie Twiggs, before January was
quite past, was an event that shed light and joy in at least two
dwellings. It seemed as if she belonged to all of us, and as she increased
in size and beauty it was hard to say who, among us all, was most proud of
her. If we had ever felt any languid hours before, we could have none now--
she was the pet, the darling, the joint property of both households.

Page 100

Whatever regret I might have had, previous to this event, at the idea of
leaving my friend for the three weeks to which we proposed to limit our
visit to Chicago, I felt now that she would scarcely miss me, and that we
might hold ourselves in readiness to take advantage of the first
improvement in the weather, to put this favorite project in execution.

During the latter part of February the cold became less severe. The snows
melted away, and by the beginning of March the weather was so warm and
genial, that we were quite confident of being able to make the journey on
horseback without any serious difficulty.

Our plans once settled upon, the first thing to be provided was warm and
comfortable apparel. A riding-habit of stout broadcloth was pronounced
indispensable to my equipment. But of such an article I was destitute.
Nothing among my wedding travelling gear seemed in any way to offer a
substitute. What was to be done? The requisite material was to be found in
abundance at the sutler's store (the shantee, as it was technically
termed), but how to get it manufactured into a suitable garment was the
question.

The regimental tailor was summoned. He was cook to one of the companies,
and there were at first some doubts whether he could be permitted to
forsake the spit for the needle, during the time I should require his
services. All his tailoring-work had, heretofore, been done at odd times
on a bench in the company kitchen, and thither he now proposed to carry
the riding-habit. I suggested that, in order to superintend the work, I
should thus be driven to take up my abode for the time being in the
barracks, which would be a decided inconvenience.

To remedy the difficulty, he was finally so happy as to find a soldier in
"Company D," who consented to officiate

Page 101

in his place as cook until his term of service to me should expire.

Behold, then, a little, solemn-looking man in his stocking-feet, seated
cross-legged on an Indian mat by my parlor window. He had made all his
arrangements himself, and I deemed it wisest not to interfere with him.
The cutting-out was the most difficult part, and, as he had never made a
lady's riding-habit, that task fell to my share. I was as great a novice
as himself, and I must admit that this, my first effort, was open to
criticism. But the little tailor was of a different opinion. He was in an
ecstasy with our joint performance.

"Upon my word, madam," he would exclaim, surveying it with admiring eyes,
"we shall have a very respectable garment!" I do not know how many times
he repeated this during the three days that the work was in progress.

I believe he had not perfect confidence in the culinary powers of his
comrade of "Company D," for regularly a half-hour before beat of drum his
work was folded and laid aside, his snips gathered up, and, all things
being restored to order, he would slip out, resume his shoes, which, Turk-
like, he had left outside the door, and speed over to the barrack-kitchen
to see how matters were going on.

In the mean time, great preparations were making below, under the
supervision of our tidy, active little French servant, Mrs. Pillon, the
wife of one of the engages, by whom the irregular and unmanageable Louisa
had been replaced.

Biscuits were baked, a ham, some tongues, and sundry pieces of salt pork
were boiled, coffee roasted and ground, sugar cracked, isinglass cut in
pieces of the size requisite for a pot of coffee. For the reception of all
these different

Page 102

articles cotton bags of different sizes had been previously prepared.
Large sacks of skin, called by the Canadians porches, were also provided
to hold the more bulky provisions, for our journey was to be a long one.

The distance from Fort Winnebago to Chicago was not very formidable, it is
true, if the direct route were taken; but that we knew to be impossible at
this season of the year. The route by Kosh-ko-nong was out of the
question; all the Indians being absent from their villages in the winter,
and the ice being now gone, we could have no means of crossing the Rock
River at that place.

There remained therefore no alternative but to proceed south to Dixon, or,
as it was then called, Ogie's Ferry, the only certain means of crossing
this broad and rapid stream. This route being so much out of our direct
course that we could not hope to accomplish it in less than six days, it
was necessary to prepare accordingly.

While the wardrobe and provisions were thus in preparation, arrangements
were also being made as to our retinue and mode of conveyance.

Mr. Kinzie decided to take with him but two men: Plante and Pierre Roy,--
the former to act as guide, on the assurance that he knew every mile of
the way, from the Portage to Ogie's Ferry, and from Ogie's Ferry to
Chicago.

The claims of the different saddle-horses were discussed, and the most
eligible one was selected for my use. We hesitated for a time between "Le
Gris" and "Souris," two much-vaunted animals, belonging to Paquette, the
interpreter. At length, being determined, like most of my sex, by a regard
for exterior, I chose "Le Gris," and "Souris" was assigned to young Roy;
my own little stumpy pony, "Brunet," being pronounced just the thing for a
packsaddle. My husband rode his own bay horse "Tom,"

Page 103

while Plante, the gayest and proudest of the party, bestrode a fine, large
animal called "Jerry," which had lately been purchased for my use; and
thus was our cortege complete.



CHAPTER XIII.
DEPARTURE FROM FORT WINNEBAGO.

Having taken a tender leave of our friends, the morning of the 8th of
March saw us mounted and equipped for our journey. The weather was fine--
the streams, already fringed with green, were sparkling in the sun--
everything gave promise of an early and genial season. In vain, when we
reached the ferry at the foot of the bill on which the fort stood, did
Major Twiggs repeat his endeavors to dissuade us from commencing a journey
which he assured me would be perilous beyond what I could anticipate. I
was resolute.

Our party was augmented by an escort of all the young officers, who
politely insisted on accompanying us as far as Duck Creek, four miles
distant. Indeed, there were some who would gladly have prosecuted the
whole journey with us, and escaped the monotony of their solitary,
uneventful life. In our rear followed an ox cart, on which was perched a
canoe, destined to transport us over the creek, and also an extensive
marsh beyond it, which was invariably, at this season, overflowed with
water to a considerable depth. We had much amusement in watching the
progress of this vehicle as it bumped and thumped over the road,
unconscious hitherto of the dignity of a wheeled carriage.

Page 104

Our little, shock-headed, sunburnt, thick-lipped Canadian (who happened
most miraculously to be the husband of my pretty servant, Mrs. Pillon)
shouted vociferously as the animals lagged in their pace, or jolted
against a stump, "Marchez, don-g," "regardez," "prenez garde," to our
infinite diversion. I was in high spirits, foreseeing no hardships or
dangers, but rather imagining myself embarked on a pleasure excursion
across the prairies. It had not even suggested itself to me that a straw
bonnet and kid gloves were no suitable equipment for such an expedition.
Never having travelled at so inclement a season, I was heedlessly ignorant
of the mode of preparing against it, and had resisted or laughed at my
husband's suggestions to provide myself with blanket socks, and a woollen
capuchon for my head and shoulders. And now, although the wind
occasionally lifted my head-gear with a rude puff, and my hands ere long
became swollen and stiffened with the cold, I persuaded myself that these
were trifling evils, to which I should soon get accustomed. I was too well
pleased with the novelty of my outfit, with my hunting-knife in a gay
scabbard hanging from my neck, and my tin cup at my saddle-bow, to regard
minor inconveniences.

On reaching Duck Creek, we took leave of our young friends, who remained
on the bank long enough to witness our passage across--ourselves in the
canoe, and the poor horses swimming the stream, now filled with cakes of
floating ice.

Beyond the rising ground which formed the opposite bank of the stream,
extended a marsh of perhaps three hundred yards across. To this the men
carried the canoe which was to bear us over. The water was not deep, so
our attendants merely took off the pack from Brunet and my side-saddle
from Le Gris, for fear of accidents, and then mounted their own steeds,
leading the two extra ones.

Page 105

My husband placed the furniture of the pack-horse and my saddle in the
centre of the canoe, which he was to paddle across.

"Now, wifie," said he, "jump in, and seat yourself flat in the bottom of
the canoe."

"Oh, no," said I; "I will sit on the little trunk in the centre; I shall
be so much more comfortable, and I can balance the canoe exactly."

"As you please; but I think you will find it is not the best way."

A vigorous push sent us a few feet from the bank. At that instant two
favorite greyhounds whom we had brought with us, and who had stood whining
upon the bank, reluctant to take to the water as they were ordered, gave a
sudden bound, and alighted full upon me. The canoe balanced a moment--then
yielded--and, quick as thought, dogs, furniture, and lady were in the
deepest of the water.

My husband, who was just preparing to spring into the canoe when the dogs
thus unceremoniously took precedence of him, was at my side in a moment,
and, seizing me by the collar of my cloak, begged me not to be frightened.
I was not, in the least, and only laughed as he raised and placed me again
upon the bank.

The unfortunate saddle and little trunk were then rescued, but not until
they had received a pretty thorough wetting. Our merriment was still
further increased by the sight of the maladroit Pillon, who was attempting
to ride my spirited Jerry across the marsh. He was clinging to the neck of
the animal, with a countenance distorted with terror, as he shouted forth
all manner of French objurgations. Jerry pranced and curveted, and finally
shot forward his rider, or rather his burden, headforemost, a distance of
several feet into the water.

Page 106

A general outcry of mirth saluted the unfortunate Frenchman, which was
redoubled as he raised himself puffing and snorting from his watery bed
and waddled back to his starting-place, the horse, meanwhile, very
sensibly making his way to join his companions, who had already reached
the farther bank.

"Well, wifie," said Mr. Kinzie, "I cannot trust you in the canoe again.
There is no way but to carry you across the marsh like a pappoose. Will
you take a ride on my shoulders?"

"With all my heart, if you will promise to take me safely." And I was soon
mounted.

I must confess that the gentleman staggered now and then under his burden,
which was no slight one, and I was sadly afraid, more than once, that I
should meet a similar fate to old Pillon, but happily we reached the other
side in safety.

There my husband insisted on my putting on dry shoes and stockings, and
(must I confess it?) drinking a little brandy, to obviate the effects of
my icy bath. He would fain have made a halt to kindle a fire and dry my
apparel and wardrobe properly, but this I would not listen to. I
endeavored to prove to him that the delay would expose me to more cold
than riding in my wet habit and cloak, and so indeed it might have been,
but along with my convictions upon the subject there was mingled a spice
of reluctance that our friends at the fort should have an opportunity, as
they certainly would have done, of laughing at our inauspicious
commencement.

Soon our horses were put in order, and our march recommenced. The day was
fine for the season. I felt no inconvenience from my wet garments, the
exercise of riding taking away all feeling of chilliness. It was to me a
new mode of travelling, and I enjoyed it the more from having

Page 107

been secluded for more than five months within the walls of the fort,
scarcely varying the tenor of our lives by an occasional walk of half a
mile into the surrounding woods.

We had still another detention upon the road, from meeting Lapierre, the
blacksmith, from Sugar Creek, who with one of his associates was going to
the Portage for supplies, so that we had not travelled more than twenty-
three miles when we came to our proposed encamping-ground. It was upon a
beautiful stream, a tributary of one of the Four Lakes,(*) that chain
whose banks are unrivalled for romantic loveliness.

I could not but admire the sagacity of the horses, who seemed, with human
intelligence, to divine our approach to the spot where their toils were to
cease. While still remote from the point of woods which foretold a halt,
they pricked up their ears, accelerated their pace, and finally arrived at
the spot on a full gallop.

We alighted at an open space, just within the verge of the wood, or, as it
is called by Western travellers, "the timber." My husband recommended to
me to walk about until a fire should be made, which was soon accomplished
by our active and experienced woodsmen, to whom the felling of a large
tree was the work of a very few minutes. The dry grass around furnished an
excellent tinder, which, ignited by the sparks from the flint (there were
no locofocos in those days), and aided by the broken branches and bits of
light-wood, soon produced a cheering flame. "The bourgeois," in the mean
time, busied himself in setting up the tent, taking care to place it
opposite the fire, but in such a direction that the wind would carry the
smoke and flame away from the opening or door. Within upon the

(* Between two of these lakes is now situated the town of Madison--the
capital of the State of Wisconsin.)

Page 108

ground were spread, first a bear-skin, then two or three blankets (of
which each equestrian had carried two, one under the saddle and one above
it), after which, the remainder of the luggage being brought in, I was
able to divest myself of all my wet clothing and replace it with dry. Some
idea of the state of the thermometer may be formed from the fact that my
riding-habit, being placed over the end of the huge log against which our
fire was made, was, in a very few minutes, frozen so stiff as to stand
upright, giving the appearance of a dress out of which a lady had vanished
in some unaccountable manner.

It would be but a repetition of our experience upon the Fox River to
describe the ham broiled upon the "broches," the toasted bread, the
steaming coffee, the primitive table-furniture. There is, however, this
difference, that of the latter we carry with us in our journeys on
horseback only a coffee-pot, a tea-kettle, and each rider his tin cup and
hunting-knife. The deportment at table is marked by an absence of
ceremony. The knife is drawn from the scabbard--those who remember to do
so, vouchsafe it a wipe upon the napkin. Its first office is to stir the
cup of coffee--next, to divide the piece of ham which is placed on the
half of a travelling biscuit, held in the left hand, to fulfil the office
of a plate. It is an art only to be acquired by long practice, to cut the
meat so skilfully as not at the same time to destroy the dish.

We take our places around the mat to enjoy what, after our fatiguing ride,
we find delicious food. The Frenchmen are seated at a little distance,
receiving their supplies of coffee, meat, and bread, and occasionally
passing jokes with the bourgeois, who is their demi-god, and for whom
their respect and devotion are never lessened by his affability or
condescension.

The meal being finished, the table-furniture is rinsed in

Page 109

hot water and set aside until morning. A wisp of dry prairie-grass is
supposed in most cases to render the knife fit to be restored to the
scabbard, and there being, at this season of the year, no amusement but
that of watching the awkward movements of the spancelled horses in their
progress from spot to spot in search of pasturage, we are usually soon
disposed to arrange our blankets and retire to rest.

At break of day we are aroused by the shout of the bourgeois,--

"How! how! how!"

All start from their slumbers. The fire, which has been occasionally
replenished through the night, is soon kindled into a flame. The horses
are caught and saddled, while a breakfast, similar in kind to the meal of
the preceding evening, is preparing--the tent is struck--the pack-horse
loaded--"tout demanche," as the Canadian says. The breakfast finished, we
rinse our kettles and cups, tie them to our saddle-bows, and then mount
and away, leaving our fire, or rather our smoke, to tell of our visit.

March 9th.--Our journey this day led us past the first of the Four Lakes.
Scattered along its banks was an encampment of Winnebagoes. They greeted
their Father with vociferous joy--"Bon-jour, bon-jour, Shaw-nee-awkee."
"Hee-nee-karray-kay-noo?" (how do you do?)

To this succeeded the usual announcement, "Wys-kaprah tshoonsh-koo-nee-
no!" (I have no bread.)

This is their form of begging; but we could not afford to be generous, for
the uncertainty of obtaining a supply, should our own be exhausted,
obliged us to observe the strictest economy.

How beautiful the encampment looked in the morning sun! The matted lodges,
with the blue smoke curling from their tops--the trees and bushes powdered
with a

Page 110

light snow which had fallen through the night--the lake, shining and
sparkling, almost at our feet--even the Indians, in their peculiar
costume, adding to the picturesque!

I was sorry to leave it, as we were compelled to do, in all haste, Souris,
the pack-horse, having taken it into his head to decamp while we were in
conversation with our red friends. As he had, very sensibly, concluded to
pursue his journey in the right direction, we had the good fortune to
overtake him after a short race, and, having received much scolding and
some blows from young Roy, whose charge he specially was, he was placed in
the middle of the cavalcade, as a mark of disgrace for his breach of duty.

Our road, after leaving the lake, lay over a "rolling prairie," now bare
and desolate enough. The hollows were filled with snow, which, being
partly thawed, furnished an uncertain footing for the horses, and I could
not but join in the ringing laughter of our Frenchmen as occasionally
Brunet and Souris, the two ponies, would flounder, almost imbedded,
through the yielding mass. Even the vainglorious Plante, who piqued
himself on his equestrian skill, was once or twice nearly unhorsed, from
having chosen his road badly. Sometimes the elevations were covered with a
thicket or copse, in which our dogs would generally rouse up one or more
deer. Their first bound, or "lope," was the signal for a chase. The horses
seemed to enter into the spirit of it, as "hallow" answered "halloo;" but
we were never so fortunate as to get a shot at one, for although the dogs
once or twice caught they were not strong enough to hold them. It was
about the middle of the afternoon when we reached the Blue Mound. I
rejoiced much to have got so far, for I was sadly fatigued, and every mile
now seemed like two to me. In fact, the

Page 111

miles are unconscionably long in this country. When I was told that we had
still seven miles to go, to "Morrison's," where we proposed stopping for
the night, I was almost in despair. It was my first journey on horseback,
and I had not yet become inured to the exercise.

When we reached Morrison's I was so much exhausted that, as my husband
attempted to lift me from the saddle, I fell into his arms.

"This will never do," said he. "To-morrow we must turn our faces towards
Fort Winnebago again."

The door opened hospitably to receive us. We were welcomed by a lady with
a most sweet, benignant countenance, and by her companion, some years
younger. The first was Mrs. Morrison--the other, Miss Elizabeth Dodge,
daughter of General Dodge.

My husband laid me upon a small bed, in the room where the ladies had been
sitting at work. They took off my bonnet and riding-dress, chafed my
hands, and prepared me some warm wine and water, by which I was soon
revived. A half-hour's repose so refreshed me that I was able to converse
with the ladies, and to relieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my
account. Tea was announced soon after, and we repaired to an adjoining
building, for Morrison's, like the establishment of all settlers of that
period, consisted of a group of detached log houses or cabins, each
containing one or at most two apartments.

The table groaned with good cheer, and brought to mind some that I had
seen among the old-fashioned Dutch residents on the banks of the Hudson.

I had recovered my spirits, and we were quite a cheerful party. Mrs.
Morrison told us that during the first eighteen months she passed in this
country she did not speak with a white woman, the only society she had
being that of her husband and two black servant-women.

Page 112

A Tennessee woman had called in with her little son just before tea, and
we amused Mr. Kinzie with a description of the pair. The mother's visit
was simply one of courtesy. She was a little, dumpy woman, with a
complexion burned perfectly red by the sun, and hair of an exact tow-
color, braided up from her forehead in front in front and from her neck
behind. These tails, meeting on the top of her head, were fastened with a
small tin comb. Her dress was of checkered homespun, a "very tight fit,"
and, as she wore no ruff or handkerchief around her neck, she looked as if
just prepared for execution. She was evidently awestruck at the sight of
visitors, and seemed inclined to take her departure at once; but the boy,
not so easily intimidated, would not understand her signs and pinches
until he had sidled up to Mrs. Morrison, and, drawing his old hat still
farther over his eyes, begged for a whang, meaning a narrow strip of deer-
skin. The lady very obligingly cut one from a large smoked skin, which she
produced from its receptacle, and mother and son took their leave, with a
smiling but rather a scared look.

After tea we returned to Mrs. Morrison's parlor, where she kindly insisted
on my again reposing myself on the little bed, to recruit me, as she said,
for the ensuing day's journey. My husband, in the mean time, went to look
after the accommodation of his men and horses.

During the conversation that ensued, I learned that Mrs. Morrison had
passed much time in the neighborhood of my recent home in Oneida County,
that many of the friends I had loved and valued were likewise her friends,
and hat she had even proposed to visit me at Fort Winnebago on hearing of
my arrival there, in order to commence an acquaintance which had thus been
brought about by other and unexpected means.

Long and pleasant was the discourse we held together

Page 113

until a late hour, and mutual was the satisfaction with which we passed
old friends and by-gone events in review, much to the edification of Miss
Dodge, and of the gentlemen when they once more joined us.